


Push Back

by slutbumwalla



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 19:51:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8503135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slutbumwalla/pseuds/slutbumwalla
Summary: Natalia Ward is trying to get her passion project filmed and the higher-ups want Tom Hiddleston to play the lead, much to her chagrin. She doesn't think much of the Marvel movies and she doesn't want some cheesy actor ruining her script, but it looks like working with him is inevitable.





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where I'm going with this, but there will eventually be smut because I can't NOT write smut at some point. Also, I don't know how film-making works and this is alllllll just me guessing. Thanks for reading!

Nat had known from the start that it was going to be a busy day, but by the time she rolled into her office Friday morning she felt she’d already run a gauntlet. She’d hit snooze more times than she intended, and by the time she realized she’d meant to shower she was already running twenty minutes behind. Add to that the usual L.A. traffic and the fact that there was an inexplicable line at the groomer’s when she dropped her dog off for his scheduled clipping and it was no wonder her phone was blaring urgently from her handbag as she pushed through the doors, almost thirty-five minutes late for an important meeting she was praying her staff was handling for her. 

“How long have they been here?” Nat asked in a low voice as she dropped her bag with her assistant and collected the iPad she was handed, scrolling quickly to find the meeting notes that had been loaded. 

“Five minutes, give or take.” Brie answered, head down as she texted on her own phone, “Sonya’s in there with them, gave them a quick tour and now she’s offering drinks. I just told her you’re here.”

No sooner had Brie finished speaking than the conference room doors opened and there was Sonya, her star office manager, striding towards her in a crisp white button-down tucked into a high-waisted pencil skirt. She raised her eyebrow when she saw that Natalia was dressed down in cropped jeans with an over-sized gray shirt hanging off her shoulder and nothing more impressive than ballet flats on her feet. Her hair, which she had not had a chance to wash, was currently dry shampoo smoothed into a top knot. 

“Do we not have a pair of power heels for you here?” Sonya asked, in some distress. Brie disappeared into Nat’s office and emerged with a pair of shiny black spiked heels and an asymmetrically cut black blazer that she’d found draped over Nat’s office chair.

“Thank god.” Sonya said, motioning for Nat to step into the heels and then bending to properly cuff her jeans around her calves as Nat slid into her blazer. Sonya stood back to examine her handiwork, stopping to artfully tuck one side of the gray shirt into Nat’s jeans before nodding her approval. “Do you have any lipstick, where’s the red one?”

Nat turned to her purse, strewn across Brie’s desk, and dug out her favorite red lipstick, applying it expertly in the small mirror Brie now held out, used to this drill.

Sonya was already moving, waving Nat along down the hallway. “Now at least you look like you’ve fashionably rolled out of bed.”

“Are you giving me the wrong times for meetings again?” Nat asked, conversationally. 

“Are you still running late for everything, in spite of the fact that I’ve scheduled reminders to pop up on your phone for everything important?” Sonya countered. 

Nat smiled, “The problem with that is EVERYTHING is important, now there are too many reminders. Besides, I can’t help it. At this point tardiness is built into my operating system. There’s no patch for it.”

Sonya tsked, shaking her head as she opened the door to usher Nat in.

“I’m sorry to have kept everyone waiting,” Nat said, striding into the small conference room as three men rose to greet her. Nat extended her hand towards only man in the room that she was familiar with, “Craig, how are you? I hear you got a tour?”

Her brand new co-producer smiled and bent to kiss her cheek, a Hollywood thing Nat had only recently gotten used to. 

“These are some pretty swell digs you’ve got here.” He said. 

“I hope so, I was a pain in the contractor’s ass during the building. It would have been mortifying if he’d been right about everything I made him change.” Nat laughed, turning towards the other men standing besides Craig. She’d hoped, between her all her striding and confidence-projecting voice, that her nerves would admit defeat and stop assaulting her, but they bloomed to life as she braced for what was coming. 

“Natalia Ward, this is Tom Hiddleston, who you may be familiar with, and I believe you’ve met our director, Jesse Gould.” 

“Tom, of course.” Was all she managed, hoping her smile seemed natural as they exchanged a firm handshake. She’d meant to maintain eye contact, but there was too much of him to take in. Her eyes traveled from their clasped hands, up the arm of the blazer he wore over his own gray t-shirt, finally landing on his face, which, in spite of her heels, hovered a good five inches above her own. As soon as she met his impossibly clear gaze her eyes flicked quickly away and she released his hand. One of the two of them had a rather clammy grip, but she honestly couldn’t tell if it had been her or him. She quickly turned to Jesse, whom she hadn’t recognized on account of his now absolutely voluminous hipster beard. She raised her eyebrow as she reach out to him and gave the ends a light tug. “What is this?”

Jesse just grinned and shook his head at her as they all moved to take their seats. Sonya sat silently beside Nat and opened a small laptop, preparing to take notes.

“So…” Nat began, flicking the iPad back on and scrolling again through her notes, trying to buy time to reclaim her nerves. As far as she could tell, Tom was settled directly across from her. Their handshake hadn’t actually been that long, but her cheeks had warmed under the directness of his gaze and she felt like she’d already lost the upper hand in this meeting. She summoned her courage, fought the blush she could feel threatening to expand across her face, and looked straight up into the most unnervingly direct gaze she’d ever seen. 

“You’ve read the script?” Her voice sounded too strict, so she threw in an encouraging smile at the end, hoping it didn’t look as tacked-on as it felt. 

“I’ve read it several times by now, actually, I absolutely love it.” His rich voice filled the air and the word ‘delicious’ unexpectedly popped into Nat’s head as he shifted forward in his seat, leaning across the table towards her as he continued, “I think it’s incredibly original and, honestly, exactly the sort of project I’m looking for at the moment.” 

Nat didn’t know it, but she frowned at this.“Well thank you, I think we’re hoping to put together something pretty special here-”

“Absolutely!” Craig boomed, eager to get into the conversation. Craig had made it clear he would be pushing for Tom to get cast, but Nat had written the part with an entirely different sort of actor in mind. Craig began giving Tom the project breakdown and Nat, seeing Tom’s focus move away from her and onto Craig, used the opportunity to observe him. She’d only vaguely been aware of him prior to his name being brought up for her script, so her research on him had been fairly recent. When she found out he was mainly known for being some kind of Marvel superhero (super villain? She refused to watch the movies, she’d fallen asleep not once, but twice while trying to watch Ironman and had given up on the genre), she gave an outright no. Craig, and even Sonya, then took pains trying to explain his popularity to her, showing her how well he was received during a surprise appearance at Comic Con. The footage only made her wince. He was far too hammy to be the romantic lead she’d written and she couldn’t stand the idea of being forced into watching some cheesy actor maul a story she’d poured so much of herself into. She was looking for someone with a proven ability to come across as charming, with intensity and a sense of introspection. From what they’d shown her, this was not that guy. This guy wasn’t even sexy, she couldn’t fathom why so many girls were screaming over him. Craig, exasperated, had told her he was scheduling a meeting with him anyway and huffed out of their lunch meeting.

Later Sonya, knowing Nat better, had called her into the conference room and sat her down with a playlist of YouTube clips. Nat begrudgingly watched a few interviews where he was, admittedly, very charming, but then Sonya loaded a clip that appeared to be a montage of Tom dancing on various talk shows and in random viral videos. 

“You have got to be kidding me!” Nat had said, rolling her eyes. “How is this any less hammy than what you showed me before?”

Sonya had blinked in surprise, caught off guard since she was grinning wildly at the footage. “You don’t think that’s sexy?” she’d asked, pointing to the screen where Tom was now incorporating some sort of shoe-slapping move into an already spastic dance.

“NO!” Nat had declared, “How is that - well THAT’S sexy…” Tom was now doing a dance he described as the snake hips, and both women watched silently for about two seconds before Nat continued on, huffing out, “OK, I get that this is a THING,” she waved her hand over the computer screen, “but this is not a romantic lead guy. This is a best friend guy AT MOST. The goofy buddy. And I haven’t written in a goofy buddy in this movie.” 

Sonya rolled her eyes, recognizing Nat’s stubborn tone when she heard it, and shut the laptop. “I’m going to order you some movies. Watch them before the meeting.” 

Nat took a moment to scowl before shouting “I’m not watching Thor!” at the form that had been retreating through the conference doors. The same conference doors Nat was now staring at as she was called into the present by a light kick under the table from Sonya, which startled her into looking up at the men who’d been conversing. 

“I’m sorry?” she asked, mentally smacking herself for making such a terrible impression. First she’s late and now she can’t be bothered to pay attention. They’d be lucky to get him now, and Craig would think she’d done it on purpose. 

“She’s heard my spiel before.” Craig winked at Tom, “I think she’s zoned out in defense.” 

“Nooooo…” Nat said, breaking out into a grin at the obvious lie. Tom, fortunately, grinned too, although Craig shot her a quick warning look that made her sit up straight. Right, time to shape up. While this was her script under her production company, it was mostly Craig’s money that would be funding the film. She couldn’t afford to have him lose faith in her because she was being a brat about casting.

“Well…” Nat cleared her throat, sitting up straight and finally giving the table her full attention, “I’ve been impressed by your work, particularly in ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’.” There was a murmur of assent around the table from both Jesse and Sonya, as Nat thought to herself, holy hell, had he been good in that. And also partially naked, which reminded her she was now sitting across from a stranger and she’d already seen his ass and now she was thinking about that and where was her train of thought supposed to be? 

“That one’s a personal favorite.” Tom said, smiling at her from across the table as she was sure she felt her blush return. 

“Yes, that’s actually exactly the sort of…” she paused, searching for the right word, “…hmm, intensity? Kind of, maybe…”

“Sex appeal?” Sonya piped up, smug from behind her laptop.

“Y-y-yeah…” Nat sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and looking askance at Sonya. That had NOT been the word she was looking for, but Sonya had closed the loop in the conversation that Craig was looking for, so Craig picked it up and ran with it, reclaiming Tom’s attention. Annoyed, Nat pulled her iPad back to her and scrolled through to Tom’s resume, propping it up in front of her as she reminded herself of her notes and then recrossed her arms, waiting. When there was a break in the conversation she jumped in. “I see you actually have a similar background to the character you’d be portraying?” she looked up, managing to successfully maintain eye contact as Tom leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring her. 

“Yeah, that’s one of the things about the story that struck me, actually-”

“Would you have a problem playing someone that close to your own background?” she interjected. Tom quirked a brow at her in response, thrown off by her line of questioning. “Some people…” she explained, “actors, at least - the good ones - they don’t want to play someone too similar to themselves. They want to come up with variations that are more challenging to them during filming. Do you think playing this guy as written is going to be something you can do?” It was, potentially, the most hostile question he’d be asked during the meeting, but it was important. This was her script, and their first real full-feature venture. If Craig was pushing for this guy because they needed some big-name recognition then Natalia wanted to be sure they ended up with someone who wasn’t going to argue with her over her own damn story. 

Tom took a moment before answering, his brow furrowing as he formulated his response. Nat tried not to squirm under the directness of his gaze, which was steady. “Well, Natalia,” the three syllables of her name rolled off his tongue, did anyone else hear how he said that? “I completely understand your perspective, and I just…I guess I haven’t properly emphasized how much I love this script. I’ve been looking for a romantic film -” he turned to Craig, who nodded his agreement, “for quite some time, and it’s been really important to me to find the right vehicle, if you will. This script…” he placed long fingers over a copy of the script in front of him, “I couldn’t put it down. I’d start filming it yesterday if we could. I think you’ve written something absolutely real, and absolutely touching, and absolutely funny and charming, and I would be one-hundred percent committed to communicating this as it is, because I think it’s perfect.”

Well. Nat was overwhelmed and unsure of what to say. She knew it was a strong script, but his conviction about it rendered her a little undone. 

“Mr. Hiddleston, I think you just won the part.” Craig laughed, clapping Tom on the back. Tom smiled as they shook hands, and Craig rose from the table. “I’ll call your people and start getting the details worked out. Once we’ve got that sorted, what, we can issue a press release and then maybe do a celebration dinner?” Craig, working fast, pointed at Jesse, who nodded as he shook hands with Tom, “Celebration dinner?” Craig pointed at Nat, who was trying to remain seated because she felt like the rug had just been pulled out from under her, but as Tom began to reach for her hand she found she had to get up to extend herself across the table.

“Sure,” She smiled tightly and nodded as Tom took her hand, their eyes meeting over the table. “Celebration dinner.”

“You won’t be sorry.” Tom said, his clear eyes meeting her uncertain gaze with a quiet and earnest intensity that had her hoping that maybe this would work after all.


	2. Celebration Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tom is extremely charming.

It ended up being three weeks before the final contracts could be drawn up and signed. Negotiations proved a little difficult, since the production company was new and untested and Tom’s people felt like he needed extra concessions before signing on. Tom didn’t care, but his agent was insistent, so he told him to do whatever he needed to do while making it clear that if his role became jeopardized at all there would be hell to pay.

He had a gut feeling about this role. He wasn’t halfway through the script before he’d been on the phone with his agent, telling him to set up a meeting as soon as possible. Since the production company had sent the script to him, specifically, he had been surprised to receive push-back during the meeting with the screenwriter. He clearly hadn’t been who she’d had in mind, but he knew he could more than do her story justice when all was said and done. 

His mind wandered as he thought about the writer - Natalia. She’d strolled into that meeting and his throat went dry. It had taken him a good five minutes to shake himself free from staring at her mouth. Her lower lip seemed particularly luscious, losing none of its appeal once he’d picked up on the fact that it was pouting about him as he’d lobbied for the role. She hadn’t been keen on eye contact, either, which was one of his strong suits in negotiations. He’d wanted to take her by the chin and force her to look at him, almost as badly as he’d wanted to run his thumb across her lips to feel if they were as soft and supple as they had looked. He’d wanted to watch that scowl disappear as he moved in to nibble, taking that tempting bottom lip between his teeth to taste…

His phone rang, startling him out of his reverie. It was his agent. “David,” he answered, “what’s up?”

“Contracts are lined up, everything’s ready to be signed, buddy. You’re not gonna get rich off this one, but I got you some nice points on the back end in case this thing takes off like we’re hoping.”

“Great, good. When do we sign?” Tom never cared about the details of a deal, which wasn’t something that ever registered with David. 

“I can have the contracts sent straight over to you, and they want to do a dinner. It’s short notice, but are you free tonight?”

“Absolutely, I want this locked in. Set it up and let me know where.” Tom rang off. He looked around from behind his desk, which was a mess, as usual. The script sat cradled in his lap. He flipped through a few pages, excitement coursing through him, before tossing it onto a pile of other scripts and rising, striding across his temporary apartment towards the windows, where he could see the sun sinking over Venice beach. He thought about a run, needing some way to expend the burst of energy he was suddenly feeling, but a run wasn’t going to satisfy him. He’d have to deal with the fact that landing this part would put him in such a close professional proximity to someone he was attracted to, but he’d figure that out later. He turned towards the bathroom, deciding he should probably clean himself up if he was going to be meeting with people. If he paid a little bit more attention to his grooming that usual, he didn’t stop to think about why. 

*****

The sun had long set by the time Tom pulled his car up to the valet stand at the restaurant he’d been directed to. He sighed when he saw there were paparazzi. He’d been hoping they had settled on a more low-key location, but he smiled as he emerged to the sound of a rush of clicks. He handed his keys over to a beleaguered old valet attendant as questions were hurled at him from every direction. Ignoring the questions but sending the general group of them a wave, he was met at the curb by a doorman and escorted inside, where David was just coming to meet him. 

“Is everyone here?” Tom asked, looking around. It was an old Italian place that didn’t, by decoration, look like any place special, but he quickly surmised it had a long history. Pictures of various celebrities from a wide span of years were crowded onto the walls, each one signed. 

“Everyone’s at the bar, buddy. Excuse me,” David addressed the hostess, “our whole party is here, can we swing by the bar and pick them up on the way to our table?”

The hostess nodded, collected a stack of menus, and lead the way. Tom was impressed. There was a distinct lack of murmuring as they moved through the tables, no one tried to snap a picture, there were no stares. It was probably why this place had been chosen. They knew discreet. He took back his judgment from earlier. 

“Guys, he’s here, let’s grab our table.” David announced to the backs of a group all sitting and chatting at the bar. Tom noticed Jesse, the director, still bearded, and shook hands with a couple of other people, without paying any particular attention as to how they were involved. He hadn’t noticed how he’d tensed up until he’d shaken hands with everyone and found not a female among them. “Is Natalia not coming?” he asked, when he got to Craig. Her producing partner looked uncomfortable for the briefest of moments before answering, “She had some stuff to wrap up at the office. She might join us later.” 

Tom was disappointed. He felt it all the way to the table, irritated and worried. Had she really been so against casting him? Maybe David had driven too hard a bargain. Tom should have read the contracts more closely before he’d signed them. He was not insensitive to the fact that it was a big deal for the head of the production company who’d just signed him to their first major film to stand up the celebration dinner. He tried to tell himself that was where his disappointment was stemming from. 

The group got themselves settled at the table and a bottle of champagne was ordered. Craig pulled out his phone and excused himself, running off to a corner to have a heated exchange with someone on the other end. Tom had a feeling he knew who it was, and he found himself hoping she could be harangued into showing up. It was really rather rude of her. He’d intended on winning her over tonight, and felt stupidly resentful about the amount of time he’d put into his appearance. Silly, really. It probably served him right. This was supposed to be a professional relationship, after all, why should he care if she found him handsome? He smoothed his gray tie down over his crisp white shirt as a waiter placed a champagne glass in front of him and carefully filled it. “Can I have a scotch, please?” he asked, and the waiter nodded and went off to collect his drink. 

Craig returned to the table, sheathing his phone as David lifted his glass. “Shall we toast?”

The table moved to lift their glasses, but Craig waved them down. “Not yet, let’s hold off a bit. We’ve still got people coming.”

Excellent, Tom thought, smiling to himself. 

*****

“Ugh.” Natalia huffed, pulling up to the valet stand and seeing a crowd of paparazzi there. “Great, one of these places.”

“They’re just outside, you don’t have to worry.” Sonya said from the passenger seat. “Besides, no one is going to think anyone famous is coming out of a Wrangler.”

Sonya was right. Nat hopped out of the car and handed her keys over without incident. A couple of the guys took pictures of them, just in case, but most just milled about. 

“After you.” Sonya waved her in when the doorman opened the door for them, so Nat went on ahead, stomach full of butterflies. 

“I’ve made a mistake.” She murmured as the hostess lead them to a table at the back of the restaurant.

“Nat, you have to be here. This is your company.” Sonya admonished. 

“No, I know, I’m just realizing I’ve made a mistake not coming with everyone else. Now I’m going to come crashing into this dinner, conspicuously late, and I’m wearing the most attention-getting dress I frickin’ own.” 

At this Sonya just quirked a smile. Nat’s red dress would have been a very tasteful and appropriate dress to wear to a business dinner if anyone but Nat had been wearing it. Her curvy body rendered the knee-length shift into an invitation to stare, and, in fact, more than a few eyes flicked up to linger on her form as they wound their way through the restaurant. 

Nat spotted the back of Tom’s head as she approached and she felt her stomach drop, so she was glad of the split second she had to collect herself before everyone noticed her. 

“Here she is!” Craig rose, and she walked into his embrace before turning to the table at large. 

“I’m so sorry I’m late, everyone. Has everyone…geez, how much have we had to drink already?” she eyed the table, seeing glasses everywhere. 

“Some champagne to celebrate, but we were waiting for you.” David said, rising to hand her a glass as the table re-sorted itself to accommodate two new diners. 

“Thank you, and how are you?” she allowed David to kiss her cheek even though he’d just spent the better part of three weeks giving her hell over his client. His hand dipped a little too low on her back as he murmured some meaningless platitudes at her, so she stepped away, patting his arm and bracing herself before she turned to the person she’d been preoccupied with since she’d stepped into the room. Tom was standing, tall and lean in a slate gray suit, waiting to greet her. She took the hand he offered and let herself be pulled into an electric hug, inhaling as he dipped his head and grazed her cheek with his lips. She could swear she heard the energy crackle. He smelled heavenly, the man had good taste in cologne and knew how to apply it. She could only get enough of a whiff to know she had to resist the urge to bury her nose in his neck and take a deeper hit. 

“Glad you could make it.” His voice purred in her ear as he pulled back from their greeting, keeping her hand clasped in his.

She forced herself to look up, trying not to blush as she met his eyes. In the dimmed light of the restaurant they looked darker, gray, like he’d matched them to his suit. Inserting some brightness into her voice and hoping the whole table couldn’t tell how jittery she was, she firmed up her handshake and gave his hand a pump. “Tom, we’re so happy to have you on board.” 

“Hear, hear!” shouted Craig, raising his glass. The rest of the table followed suit and they all clinked. 

The dinner went off well enough. Nat had brought Sonya as a security blanket, not wanting to be the only woman there, but David had insisted that Nat sit between him and Tom. She was probably never going to have much of an appetite, butterflies had invaded her stomach and rendered even the most delicious looking entrees unappetizing. Being wedged between Tom and David was an additional irritant, they both had to talk past her to say anything to one another. Both of them also kept brushing their knees against her legs to the point she’d tucked them firmly under her seat, a position which was now getting uncomfortable. She was concerned that her legs were on the verge of falling asleep. She unfolded one leg, stretching and testing, only to feel David’s leg immediately brush hers. She unfolded both and tried to stretch off to the other side, only to immediately bump into Tom’s legs. She sighed, sitting back in her chair and returning her legs to their tight tuck. The brief stretch had been nice while it lasted. 

“Alright, darling?” Tom asked, noticing her distress. 

“Oh, I’m fine, it’s just…” she scooted her chair back from the table, looking down, “Space seems a little…tight.”

They all looked down and it became immediately apparent that, with David practically on the edge of his seat and Tom’s long legs folded towards his friend while they were conversing, Natalia had been left with very little room to herself. They both began apologizing immediately, but Tom was the first to jump up. 

“I’m so sorry, here, take my seat, then you won’t be budged up between us...” He pulled her chair out and she slipped past him to take the new seat he offered. 

“Thank you, here, I’ll take that.” She sat and tried to help switch the plates, but Tom was on it, swapping the drinks and his own plate with hers, looking down at the ravioli she’d barely touched. “You’re not finished?” he asked, disapproval in his tone.

“I’m not that hungry.” She said, giving a wave to the waiter who’d appeared when he saw them shifting plates, indicating that he could take it away. 

“Box, miss?” the waiter asked. She shook her head no and off he went. 

“That wasn’t nearly enough food for the amount of wine you’re going to drink.” Tom said, reaching for a bottle of red to top off her glass and grinning at her. 

The wine wasn’t going to be her problem, she thought, as his grin set off a fresh wave of butterflies. “Thank you. I’ll be fine, trust me.” She took the glass and had a sip, more for something to do than because she wanted it. Now that he was sitting next to David he seemed to have no interest in talking to him, Tom’s body was turned completely towards her as he motioned for the waiter to refresh his own drink. 

“What are you having?” she asked, after a moment, nodding towards his glass when it seemed like he was content to simply sit and gaze at her. 

“Scotch. I think. I don’t know what kind.” He sniffed the glass, trying to guess, shrugged his shoulders and then knocked the remainder of the glass back just in time to hand it off to the waiter bringing him a new one. 

“Thank you.” He said, raising his glass briefly to the waiter and then turning back to Nat. “So,” he began, “you didn’t want me cast in this film, did you?”

Nat’s eyes widened. So, they were just gonna go for it here, were they? She cleared her throat and sat up straighter, sipping her wine to buy time. 

“Well…” she started. 

“Anyone want dessert?” the waiter was back, offering several small dessert menus. 

Taking one, Tom leaned back towards Nat, “What shall we have?” At her dubious expression, he shook his head. “Come on, you hardly ate anything. What looks best? Are you a chocolate person or, like, what’s this lemon thing?” he gave her a brief run down of their options and she picked a flourless chocolate cake, more because it wouldn’t clash with her wine than because she was hungry, and it seemed like he wouldn’t be satisfied unless she ordered something. 

That taken care of, he turned back towards her, “Now…” he leaned in conspiratorially with a roguish grin, “where were we?”

Her mouth quirked up in amusement even as she shook her head, rolling her eyes at his apparent determination. “You had a question?” she countered. 

“I did. I do. Before we start filming I really just want to be certain that you’re happy with me. If you have any questions or concerns I’d love to address them.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Well, that seems fair.” She crossed her arms over her chest before tapping her lips with an index finger while she thought of what to say. “I suppose the part was written with a different type of person in mind. I wasn’t familiar with your work, so when we were researching you…” she paused, not sure how to diplomatically call him a preening attention whore. 

“A lot of my roles have called for a certain amount of exuberance during promotion.” He supplied. 

She practically sighed in relief, “Yes. You seem very…crazily exuberant in a lot of the footage I’ve seen.” At this, he chuckled, and she continued, “And I knew I was going to have to watch you in some films to really get an idea of what you’re capable of, but yeah, the first stuff they decided to hit me with…” she trailed off, shaking her head, remembering him commanding people to kneel and dancing like a loon. “I was not hopeful, initially.” She left off the part where, once she’d seen a few films, she sort of hadn’t been able to stop watching them. She’d even watched both Thor films, although she somehow would rather die than admit it. She’d felt guilty and sneaky, pretending the bloom of interest she’d developed was purely professional, and that her resistance to casting him was strictly because he’d inadvertently made a poor first impression. And now she sat next to him, her posture painfully stiff and her conversation aimed somewhere just to the side of his face, past him, because she was afraid of what would happen if she met his gaze directly. This was not professional discomfort she was dealing with. 

“But you’ve seen some of my work that’s more in line with what this film is going to demand, haven’t you?” his brow furrowed in concern. 

She nodded, finishing another long, nervous pull of her wine, “Yes, yes, I saw a couple of them, actually. I absolutely think you have the capability to nail this part.” Amused herself, now, she leaned conspiratorially towards him, although still not quite meeting his gaze, “We wouldn’t have signed you otherwise, no matter what Craig said.”

He laughed, apparently relieved, “Well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad, I was really concerned with the idea that I was being forced upon you without your consent and you were just absolutely livid about it.” 

“Oh no, no, nothing like that.” Nat shook her head, patting the top of his hand as the dessert arrived, thinking maybe she was hungry after all. As she was about to pull her hand away, though, he flipped his, grabbing her fingers in a delicate gesture that nevertheless made her retract hers like it’d been burned. She tucked her arm behind her back, feeling silly and suddenly very warm. 

“Not hungry?” Tom asked in a low voice, sounding a little disappointed.

Nat shook her head, sighing inwardly. Trying to find a silver lining, she thought that, on the plus side, she was going to lose of ton of weight over the next few months if he kept this up.


	3. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As auditions continue to fill out the cast of her film, Natalia attempts to avoid Tom.

Once the news broke that Tom Hiddleston had signed on for their film, there was a flood of interest, and casting the rest of the movie looked like it was going to be a breeze. Natalia had thrown herself into the minutiae of pre-production with a fervor, determined not only to get all of the crucial elements of her story right, but also determined to keep her mind off of her lead actor. She’d come up against some difficulty when it came time to cast the lead actress, because screen tests with Tom would be necessary, but she’d been largely avoiding being in the same room with him. She’d narrowed the potential leading ladies down to three and solved her dilemma by insisting that she’d watch a live feed of the auditions from the writer’s room, on the assertion that whatever chemistry the two leads had, it would have to be visible to her on camera. The director, Jesse, surprisingly agreed, and decided to watch from the writer’s room with her. Her brief bit of insanity, then, felt validated, and she watched comfortably from a distance as Tom smoldered at her through the screen, with Natalia feeling safely out of reach. 

“Of course you’re being weird about it.” Sonya said later that day, as the two went out to lunch. “You like him. You’re always weird about the ones you like.” 

Sonya and Nat had known each other since Nat’s first job, at a dinky little firm where Sonya ruled the roost as the executive admin to the completely erratic slave-driver of a president. Though Nat didn’t last super long there, the two had become fast friends. When Nat was finally in a position to open her own firm, she knew immediately who she wanted helming the office operations. She’d hired Sonya at a salary that made Sonya’s eyes water. After years in the trenches, Nat wanted Sonya to have what she deserved, although she was clear that a lot of responsibility would come with the position and Sonya would be earning every penny. Nat didn’t want this production company to work solely for her own benefit. After bouncing around so many crappy offices run by ego-maniacal tyrants, Nat wanted to run a company the way she’d always thought one should be run. That meant paying the people who made it work a wage that kept them comfortable and didn’t send her into fits of guilt at night. 

“Yeah but WHY am I weird with the ones I like?” Nat asked, pulling her shades off as she steered into an underground parking garage. 

“Because you’re afraid of commitment.” Sonya answered simply. 

“Ugh. That’s so cliche. Could I have a more interesting hang-up, please?”

Sonya laughed and shook her head, “Sorry, girl, that’s the one you’ve got and you’re going to have to deal with it.”

Nat muttered dissent as she found a spot, and the two went in search of the elevators that would take them into the mall. They were taking a girls lunch, which would include some shopping and probably a few mid-day drinks. The stress of avoiding Tom all morning had worn on Nat, and she wanted to relax now that she’d escaped the screen testing phase without running into him again. 

“Do we want to shop first and eat later, or eat now and shop later?” Nat asked as they ascended an escalator to the main level. 

“I made reservations, so let’s eat first. Shopping will be more fun once we have a few drinks in us.”

“Good point!” Nat said, and they made their way up several more stories before they got to the sushi place they frequented. 

“I’m starving.” Nat said, crossing the threshold and smiling at the host as he looked up to greet them. 

“Oh there you are.” Nat froze. The voice was not coming from the host, but from behind her, and she knew who it was right away. Turning, she took in the site of Tom Hiddleston sitting casually at the banquette, putting his phone away as he rose to approach them. Next to him was Jesse, the director, smiling like the ignorant fool he was, certain their presence was a welcome one. 

“What are you doing here?” Nat asked blankly as Tom bent to kiss her cheek, a shit-eating grin on his face. 

“Well I came out of the screen testing and they said you’d gone already, and I was so disappointed to have missed you again since we’ve been getting our wires crossed lately. I took a quick peek at Sonya’s desk calendar and Jesse and I decided to come down and join you girls for lunch, talk about how things are going. What’s good here?” he asked, holding up four long fingers to the host, who nodded and began leading them to a table by a low, wide window with a view of the busy streets below. Tom kept at Nat’s side, his hand splayed across the small of her back as he steered her to a chair and took the one next to her. Still stunned, Nat looked at Sonya as Sonya took the seat across from her and made a guilty face. While Nat tended to keep her appointments locked up in her Outlook, Sonya still preferred paper, and wrote everything down in her neat, meticulous script on the massive calendar blotter on her desk. That was going to have to change. Immediately. 

“Drinks?” Tom asked, as they were handed their menus. He was clearly delighted with himself and aware of the discomfort he was causing.

“Just water.” Nat said shortly. Sonya looked at her in surprise and Nat gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. 

“Sonya, love, please don’t feel like you’ve got to abstain on account of our illustrious producer. Besides, I’m getting a bottle of, just, literally, the best champagne you have,” here Tom addressed the waiter, who nodded and scribbled it down, “and someone has got to share it with me.” Jesse, who wasn’t much of a wine guy, ordered a beer, and the waiter was off. Tom winked at Sonya, who smiled and shook her head at him and then buried herself in the menu. 

Nat was burning. This was, absolutely, the worst turn the day could have taken for her. Mentally she was casting around for any excuse she could come up with to get away. Normally she’d have Sonya hammer her phone with a fake emergency, but that obviously wasn’t an option here. She scanned the menu and was furious that her appetite had disappeared in Tom’s presence, again. This place had an amazing sashimi appetizer drizzled in the most incredible sauces ever made by the hand of men, and she felt like she would hurl if she took a single bite. 

“Did you know the ocean only has twenty percent of the fish it used to?” Jesse asked, conversationally, as they perused. It was such a Jesse thing to say, and it was so far off topic from the internal dialog that Nat had going in her mind that she surprised everyone by laughing. 

“What?” Jesse looked up, “It’s true.”

“No, you’re right, I remember I read that somewhere.” Nat said, “It’s just a super weird thing to bring up in a sushi restaurant.” 

“I think this place gets most of their stuff from sustainable sources.” Sonya interjected. Nat had no idea if that was true, but it seemed to placate Jesse. When the waiter returned with their drinks, delivering four champagne glasses with it, Jesse seemed fine with Sonya ordering the sashimi sampler to start for all of them.

“So,” Tom started as he took up the champagne bottle that had been left, at his insistence, in the ice bucket it came in. He began to pour, “who are we thinking I have the most chemistry with?” He placed a glass in front of Nat, winking as he did, but just so the others couldn’t see. 

“Well all of them were-” Jesse started, but stopped as Nat stood rather abruptly. 

“I need to use the restroom.” She announced, placing her napkin on the table and stepping quickly in the direction of the bathrooms.

“You know what, I do as well.” Sonya said, smiling and pushing her chair back gracefully as she excused herself and joined her friend. 

There was silence for a moment before Tom turned to Jesse. “That thing about women using the bathroom in groups is no lie, eh?”

*****

Natalia burst into the single-room restroom, with Sonya quick behind her. “Ok, what are you doing?” Sonya asked, a little impatiently. “He makes a tiny little baby innuendo and you’re bolting from the table like your hair’s on fire.”

“I slept with him.” The confession burst out of Nat, wild information that was out of her control. 

Sonya froze, her large eyes on her friend’s face, trying to comprehend. “WHAT?”

“The night of the Celebration Dinner. I slept with him.” Nat was now pacing around the small bathroom, hands in her hair, frantic. 

“Oh. My. God. Ok. Ok. Ok. You need to tell me everything.”

Nat shook her head, leaning against the wall, wrapping herself in her own arms, “I drank too much.” She whined, “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“No!” Sonya gasped, “Are you kidding me? Are you joking right now?” her voice was hitting octaves that the tile of the bathroom would soon have trouble containing.

Nat shushed her. “Please. It was a mistake. A stupid, stupid, unprofessional mistake. And now I can’t sit at the same table with him, I am dying, so we need to think of something to get me out of here.” The desperation in her voice was thick.

“Ok, no, you need to tell me first how you ended up having sex with Tom freaking Hiddleston and kept it from me for TWO WHOLE MONTHS!!!” 

Natalia covered her face with her hands, “I don’t KNOW!” she cried, “I don’t know how it happened. He smelled so amazing and his voice…” she trailed off, shaking her head behind the hands that were hiding her face. “I’m an IDIOT!”

“No, you’re an idiot for freaking out about the fact that Tom Hiddleston has already slept with you and he’s apparently still so interested that he’s stalking you to a restaurant two months later, because if I were you I’d have been riding that shit until my legs gave. What the hell happened?” Sonya, ever efficient, crossed the small bathroom to lock the door, then turned to Natalia with her arms crossed over her chest. “Spill.”


	4. After the Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tom and Natalia make things awkward. SMUUUUUUT.

Altogether Natalia had about four generous glasses of wine when the party spilled out onto the street the night of their Celebration Dinner. It was a Wednesday night, so thankfully the paparazzi had gotten bored and moved on, presumably choosing to use their later hours to stake out nightclubs where starlets with no underwear could come stumbling out at any moment. 

“Ok, ok, everyone, please…I’ve got a car service coming”, Craig intoned, his voice rising above the general cacophony of their little group, “I think a lot of us had too much of the drink, and I’d really rather not start this venture off with a horrible accident. So leave your keys with the valet, at our expense, and please let us take you home.”

Craig was super conscientious about drunk driving, which was sort of a pandemic in Los Angeles. When he approached Nat to make sure she was going to take advantage of the service he’d hired she was thankful, since emerging from the heady warmth of the restaurant into the chill of the city night had confirmed to her that she was in no state to drive. 

“You are an angel.” She’d said, rubbing his arm before he gathered her in a hug. 

“This is going to work out. I can feel it.” He said, rubbing her back. “You’re brilliant, I’m rich, and together we’re going to sweep this town off its feet.” 

Nat had laughed and smiled into his shoulder, happy and carefree. She had literally never dreamed she’d have an investor like Craig, a family man who’d carefully built his career on a sterling reputation for investing in some of the biggest sleeper hits of any given decade. Now he had chosen to invest in her.

A massive limo arrived and everyone began to pile in when Sonya demanded the valet ticket for Natalia’s car. 

“Are you sure?” Nat had asked. 

“I have literally had one glass of wine this entire night.” Sonya asserted, “and I’m not even about to make this limo go to Torrance, plus my babysitter needs driven home and you made me drive with you so my car is still at the office.”

Natalia, conceding, handed over the ticket and gripped her friend in a solid embrace. “Drive safe. See you tomorrow. Any coffee you get is on me, and I will probably need some.”

Nat climbed into the limo, waving good-bye.

“Ok, who is getting dropped off first?” Craig boomed, at the front of the limo. Natalia’s apartment was in Santa Monica, which was a good forty minutes away, so she relaxed and let Craig pour her another glass of champagne as they made their way across the city, losing people as they went. 

*****

Over an hour later, the population of the limo had dwindled to Natalia and Tom. 

“Where do you live, again?”” Natalia asked, hazily, as they crept along the 10.

Tom smiled. He’d already announced where he was heading, but she apparently hadn’t been paying very much attention. “I’m staying in Venice.” He couldn’t tell if she’d been going out of her way to converse with everyone else all ride or if his own heightened awareness of her made him feel unfairly neglected. Either way, he hadn’t liked it.

“That’s kind of far outside of the city center. Why stay there?”

Tom reclined, matching her relaxed pose as he reveled in finally having 100% of her attention. He hoped she knew what she was doing in that dress, the red fabric skimmed her curves in a fantastic fashion, particularly where it molded itself across the delicious looking swell of her breasts. She’d been avoiding eye contact ever since they left the restaurant, soon after he’d tried to grab her hand at the dinner table. He’d had plenty of opportunity to steal sneaky glances her way, amused that she seemed to know exactly when to look away from him. He wouldn’t have minded if he’d been caught, but it had become something of a fun game for him to try and catch her eye all evening. She certainly was a cagey one. Now, however, her wide gaze was fully fixed on him, and he realized he was supposed to be answering a question and not eye-fucking her from across the limo. 

“Venice?” he asked, his own thoughts hazy. They’d been talking about where he was staying, that was all he knew. 

“Yes. Why stay in Venice? Are you big into, like…the beach weightlifting scene?” she smirked, clearly amused with the idea. 

“Oh, I just like the beach. Excellent running paths. And there’s so much…” he trailed off, thinking. “It’s busy there.” He spent a lot of his time alone, and for some reason he always liked to stay where the city around him was bustling with activity. It helped him feel less isolated from the rest of the world. 

“I like a busy city, too.” She was speaking to him, but her attention had shifted back to the traffic lights going by. 

Tom didn’t like it. He wanted her to look at him again. He’d just opened his mouth to say he knew not what when the whir of the divider could be heard, and the driver addressed them. 

“Miss? There’s an accident on Olympic we’re going to have trouble getting through, do you mind if we swing through Venice first?”

Natalia sighed, muttering to herself, “Of course there is.” Then she raised her voice as she gave the ok to the driver, who nodded and rolled the partition back up. 

“We could soldier through, if you’re desperate to be home…” Tom offered, but Natalia waved his objections away. 

“It’s fine. This is par for the course around these parts.” She kept her gaze on the traffic, and Tom had the sense that she was a million miles away. Sensing his time alone with her coming to a close and still wanting to capture her attention, he made a decision. Emboldened by drink and a lifetime of experience telling him women usually responded positively to his advances, he slid across the gap separating them and took the seat next to her, resting his arm on the seatback behind her, body fully turned towards her, his knee crooked up under him as he let his long legs invade her personal space for the second time that evening. “What are you thinking right now?”

His sudden movement had her stiffening, her back going ramrod straight, but she didn’t slide away from him. He kept his eyes on her face as she turned a soft gaze to him again and quirked her head, deciding on her answer. 

“I’m thinking about the script.” She said simply, and then she turned back towards the passing traffic, apparently choosing to ignore his sudden proximity. 

Tom’s temper sparked a bit. She was playing it cool, and he was having none of it. 

“Natalia.” He said, low and slow. He watched as her jaw clenched, but she kept her gaze steadily on the traffic ahead. 

“Natalia.” He said, more firmly this time. 

She sighed, slowly turning to meet his gaze. “What?” There was irritation in her voice, but it was tinged with breathlessness. She was blushing again, the flush creeping down her skin towards her luscious breasts, which he was gratified to find he had a better view of from this proximity. 

“Why don’t you like me?” he whispered, crooking her a charming smile that she couldn’t stop herself from returning. 

“Is that what you think?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, her voice barely above a whisper. Her cheeks flamed as she lifted her eyes to meet his. 

He had her then, and he knew it. The arousal he’d been keeping caged all night flooded through him, and suddenly the need to haul her into his arms and drag her dress up her thighs was almost overwhelming. 

“Come here.” He said, inching his face closer to hers, eyes on her mouth. She tilted her chin up in invitation, and he moved in, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. Her mouth was every bit as soft as he’d imagined, her lips silky and full against his. She opened her mouth and his tongue rolled slowly against hers, leisurely, until she’d darted the tip of hers out to run it along the ticklish ridge of his upper lip. He bit down on her lower lip then, that lip that had been torturing him since he’d first set eyes on her, and she’d let out the tiniest of moans before pulling back, wide-eyed, her hands flying up to tug down the hands he’d placed on either side of her face. 

“You are far too sexy.” He intoned, pulling her face back to his to taste her again. He wanted to keep his mouth on her, didn’t want to give her any time to rethink what they were doing. He gathered her up in his arms, pulling her over his lap, sliding her dress up her thighs as he did, his large hands cupping her bottom as she straddled him. She smelled intoxicating, like musky roses and soap. He ran his hands up her back, over the soft material of her dress, pulling her closer to him as she deepened their kiss, winding her arms around his neck, her fingers splaying through his hair. 

The limo slowed to a stop and they both looked up as Tom’s apartment came into view. Natalia made to scramble off his lap but he held her fast. 

“Come up with me.” He could hear the driver getting out to circle round to the passenger door, he didn’t have much time to make his case so he threw every ounce of desperation he felt into his plea, “Please, don’t over-think it, just come up with me. I’m not ready for you to go.”

Natalia held his gaze for a moment, her conflicting thoughts clear on her flushed face. Just before the driver reached the door, she swooped a quick kiss over his lips and simply said “Ok.” She then slide back into her proper seat, smoothing her dress down as she went. 

Tom was ecstatic. He told the driver there wouldn’t be any more stops and tipped him generously before turning to Natalia and holding out an arm. “Shall we?”

 

*****

Natalia was a bundle of nerves as they entered Tom’s apartment. She took it in as he took her bag and went around turning some of the lights on. It was a little on the bare side, just an open loft with basic mid-century modern furniture. The best feature was the windows, floor to ceiling with a balcony apparently overlooking the beach. Although it was too dark now to see, she could make out the palm trees lining the walkway below. 

“Nice view.” She said as Tom came up behind her and slid his arms around her. 

“I like it.” He said, using one hand to pull her hair to the side so he could drop gentle kisses along her neck.

It was weird, Nat thought, how natural this felt. There were still her nerves to contend with, but there was also the part of her that was waking her up to the fact that she and Tom clicked. His plea to get her to come up with him shouldn’t have worked, but she’d read something in his expression beyond his words that moved her. There was something about being in his presence…it was comforting. A recognition that they understood each other, perhaps? 

Tom turned her around in his arms, bringing them face to face, and Natalia felt exposed as his eyes searched hers, like he had been reading her thoughts. He cupped her face in his palm and ran the pad of his thumb along the ridge of her eyebrow, tracing a path along her cheekbone, down to her lips, before meeting her eyes with his. 

“You’re beautiful.” He stated simply. 

“So are you.” She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling. He laughed, evidently a little embarrassed at her compliment. She let him pull her closer, his arms trailing down to wrap around her as he brushed his lips against hers, softly, patiently, letting her know there wouldn’t be a rush. Now that she was here, though, she had no hesitation. She opened her mouth to his and kissed him with need, threading her fingers through his hair and pressing as tight against him as she could. He groaned, breaking their kiss to bury his face in her neck, inhaling her scent for a moment before she felt his lips brush against her throat, towards her collarbone, when teeth came out to nip along the ticklish line there. 

“Hold on.” Tom warned, then he bent and picked her up neatly off her feet, her hands flying to tighten around his neck as he turned towards the back of the loft and carried her to the bed. She squealed as he tossed her down, bouncing unceremoniously before settling on her elbows to take in the sight of him shrugging out of his suit jacket and loosening his tie before crawling up the bed to where she lay. She grinned as she reached out and gathered his tie in her fist, pulling his face to hers and feeling his nails scratch along her thighs as he dragged her dress up so she could wrap her legs around him. They fell back on the bed and Nat gloried in Tom’s full weight upon her, pressing her into the mattress. She hummed as she felt the length of him press against her core, releasing his tie and letting her hands roam across his back, tugging up his shirt and splaying her fingers across the bare skin she uncovered. He was hot and smooth against her cool hands. He lifted to accommodate her as she began tugging at the front of his shirt, undoing his tie as she worked on the buttons. Tie and shirt went flying and he leaned down to kiss her again, her hands getting only the briefest chance to dance across his bare back before he pulled away and flipped her over, tugging at the zipper on the back of her dress, nipping his teeth along her spine as her skin was revealed. She flipped back over and shrugged out of the dress, pulling it over her head and sending it the way of his shirt. He used one lean arm to balance over her for a moment, making her nervous as he took her in, skimming his hand across her side, down her thigh and back up on the inside of her leg, his long fingers leaving electric trails over every inch he touched. He flattened his palm across her abdomen and caressed his way across her ribs, skimmed over the cups of her bra, gently rolling his thumb over the stiff peak of her nipple poking through the material. She watched his face, his gorgeous, angular face, intrigued at his look of concentration, feeling herself get more turned on with every pass his hand made over her heated skin. How did he have this much patience? She felt pinned, like a butterfly, under the scrutiny of his gaze. 

His inspection done, he met her eyes. “Beautiful.” He repeated. Natalia felt her entire body blush in response.

He bent to kiss her, and Natalia sighed with satisfaction, once more wrapping her legs around him and this time rolling her hips, trying to scoot things along. Tom sat up and lifted her to him, sneaking his hands around to the back of her bra to unhook the clasp. Natalia felt the cold air hit her sensitive nipples as he tossed the bra onto the growing pile of clothes at the side of the bed. He splayed one large hand across her back, supporting her as he dipped his head to take one nipple into his mouth, making her hum again. Tom licked and bit, taking her other nipple in hand to pinch and pull, causing her to close her eyes and drop her head back, focusing on the pleasure. He switched, his mouth moving to the other nipple as his fingers worked her other breast. She lifted her head to watch him through hazy eyes, the site of his tongue circling her sensitive flesh both surreal and exciting. His eyes were closed in total concentration, his lashes fanned against his cheek. Natalia reached out, taking his cheek in her palm, and Tom looked up, his brilliant eyes rich with lust as she guided his mouth to hers and sank back down onto the mattress with him, writhing under his delicious weight.

She had to get his pants off. The need in her was approaching wild desperation, and Tom seemed content to keep the pace slow and leisurely. She trailed her hand down his side, tugging insistently when she got to his belt. He lifted his hips and she snaked her hands between them to negotiate the buckle, making quick work of it and then his pants, carefully sliding the zipper down so she could push at his slacks and find out what she had to work with down there. Nat slipped her hand under his boxers and gripped his cock, sending him gasping into the pillow. She smiled, satisfied with his size. 

“Condom?” she whispered, caressing him slowly. 

He lifted his head, eyes a bit glazed over, and nodded, but made no move to get one. Instead he kissed her, hard, eliciting a low moan before he began working his way down her body. Her hand slipped out of his trousers as he went lower, hooking his fingers around her underwear and tugging them down. She lifted her knees as he worked them all the way off and threw them behind him. Before she could lower her legs he had them in hand, spreading them to place gentle kisses along the inside of one knee, nipping his way along the inside of her thigh as she fought the urge to shiver. He hooked one of her legs over his shoulder as his mouth made its way to her sex, his broad shoulders slowly descending before her. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the feel of his tongue licking, his mouth sucking at her delicate flesh. Anticipation built as his mouth moved closer to her center. When his tongue finally made one long, slow stroke up her slit the shudder she’d been repressing burst free, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. A low moan escaped as he used his fingers to spread her and dipped his tongue into her, tasting, before darting it out to circle her clit. She moaned and arched under him as his tongue lashed through her folds, his mouth making obscene noises as he sucked at her sensitive spot. She felt one, then two fingers slide into her as his mouth continued to tease her, licking, sucking, doing everything to make her grip the sheets in an attempt to hold on to control. Fuck. She had not expected this. The man was gorgeous, intelligent, AND good at going down on her? She felt his long fingers sliding inside of her, hooking around and tapping against the sensitive spot of her interior walls as the flat of his tongue undulated against her clit, sending twin pulses of pleasure rocketing up her core. She could feel herself on the edge, she could hear herself whimpering as she squirmed under him. He continued his onslaught as she neared her peak, until finally she felt an exquisite flush bloom and shoot straight through her body. She arched her back as she came, her walls pulsing around his buried fingers, her voice a restrained cry as she felt her orgasm wash over her. 

“Holy fuck.” She gasped, opening her eyes and catching her breath. She looked down to find Tom smiling into her thigh as he kissed it, giving her time to come down. 

“Get up here.” She called, tugging at his hair and bringing his mouth to meet hers. She could taste herself on him, she licked his thin lower lip wantonly as she wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed herself against him, eager for more. 

“Oh, fuck…” he murmured as her bare flesh ground against his hardened cock, and he lunged towards a bedside table, retrieving a foil packet. She took it from him as he kicked his pants all the way off and sat back on his heels, engorged cock swaying between them as she sat up to put it on. Smiling and unable to resist, she quickly lowered her mouth and took him in, swirling her tongue around the tip to taste him. He gave an unintelligible moan and his head fell back, so she ran her tongue along the pulsing vein underneath, gently sucking and licking along his shaft before returning to his head and pulling him as far into her mouth as she could. His hips jerked as she playfully bobbed a few times before disengaging with a soft popping sound and deftly rolling the condom on. 

He looked down, his thin lips twisted into a wry smile, “You fucking tease.”

Natalia, mirroring his expression, reached up and pulled him down on top of her, wrapping her legs around him as he settled himself between her hips, “Thomas, I am definitely not a tease.”

“Oooh, I like it when you say my full name like that. I feel like I’m in trouble.” He kissed her as he positioned his cock at her entrance, but he still seemed to be waiting for permission. Their mouths moved against each other as she angled her hips in invitation and was at long last rewarded by the feeling of him sliding into her, easing the desperate ache that had been throbbing ever since she’d straddled him in the limo. 

She gave a low moan as he began pumping his way in, slowly, pushing a little further each time until she was fully able to accommodate him. 

“You feel amazing.” He breathed, his voice strained with the effort he was expending trying to control himself. Natalia could tell, even in this, that he was still being a gentleman, but intuition told her he was capable of something more. She didn’t want him like this. She wanted him to let go. The cocky bastard who’d been eye-fucking her all night was in there, somewhere, and her mischievous side wanted to bring him out. 

She started by pulling his hair. Softly, at first, and then rougher, tugging in rhythm with her hips, which were moving in an effort to try and get him to pick up the pace. It worked a little bit, but Tom still seemed like he was insisting on savoring everything, his breathing barely hitching as his lips worked their way along the column of her throat, the motion of his hips still even and not nearly fast enough for her. 

Next she instigated a barrel roll, and she was encouraged by the fact that his eyes lit up as she pushed him on his back and began to bounce on his cock, her tits delightfully close to his face, her hair tickling his chest. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, feeling his cock fill her, finally pleased with a tempo of her choosing, and she moaned as she felt his mouth capture one of her nipples, sucking it in and gently rolling it between his teeth. When he gingerly bit down she let out a lusty moan and dug her nails into one of his shoulders, dragging them a little. Thus rewarded, Tom gathered both of her breasts in his large hands, kneading, before pressing them together to suck and bite at one nipple, then the other, then back again. Every time he switched the cold air hit where his hot mouth had just been and ratcheted up the aching pleasure coursing through Nat’s body. 

“Oh, fuck, Tom…” Natalia cried, her hips continuing to pivot up and down, her juices coating his thick shaft as she felt the length of him bump again and again against her internal pleasure point. His own hips seemed to be meeting her thrusts with more urgency now, and she smiled into her hair as she leaned back and suddenly slowed down the tempo, adopting the same leisurely pace Tom had been happy with earlier as she reached one hand behind her to gently knead his balls. 

“Oh, shit!” Tom’s hips jerked up, his hands flew to her waist and tried to press her down faster, resuming their tempo, but she was having fun playing with him now. Maybe she WAS a tease.

Or so she thought. In a flash, Tom had pulled out and flipped her on her hands and knees, handling her like she weighed nothing. She knelt at the end of the bed, ready for him when he slid into her from behind and began a punishing pace, his cock hitting all new angles that seemed to send the knot of desire in her belly unraveling in hyperdrive. 

“Yessss…” she hissed, arching back to meet him, her hands fisted in the sheets as he pounded into her. She flung her head, her hair flying to splay over her back, and she was gratified when she felt Tom take a handful and tug. “Oh God, Tom…” she was keening, gripping the edge of the mattress now as Tom slammed into her, bringing her closer and closer to the edge, both sexually and literally. She didn’t have anything to leverage against, and she was already pushed as hard against him as she could. Through the haze of lust she felt the mattress slipping off the boxspring, but she was so close to coming…

Tom must have realized it, too, because his hands gripped her hips and tried to pull her back, while his own hips seemed incapable of doing anything but pistoning forward. 

“Don’t stop!” Natalia shouted, she could feel the wave coming, and within seconds the knot uncoiled and a massive orgasm tore through her, sending her walls pulsating wildly around Tom as he continued to drive into her. She screamed, face down in the mattress, barely registering that he was coming, too, his motions wild and jerky and his moans more animal than human. 

They both collapsed, face-down and covered in sweat. Tom was half on top of her, that delicious weight still pressing her into the bed. Natalia’s arms were dangling off the edge, where the mattress had been driven so askew that her fingertips brushed the hardwood floor. 

“Did we just fuck the bed to the floor?” Tom rasped. 

“Mmm-hmm.” Natalia answered, spent. 

Silently, Tom seemed to consider. “Well done, us.”

Natalia laughed.


	5. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nat enlightens her assistant about her night with Tom.

“You broke his bed?” Sonya asked, incredulous. 

“NO.” Natalia said, defensively, “We just…upset it, a little.”

Sonya laughed. A full, hearty, laugh that seemed to expend all the air in her lungs. “Oh God. And now he’s sitting outside, waiting for you. And YOU…” here Sonya laughed again, covering her face with her hands as she tried to grasp the situation, “You’re hiding in the bathroom like it’s high school!” 

During this speech Natalia crossed her arms over her chest and looked the ceiling, letting her friend get it all out. Yes, this was ridiculous. She knew it. She was a grown woman, she’d had a one-night stand, and instead of being able to handle it like an adult she was literally locked in a restroom with an infuriating lack of windows through which she could escape. Because she absolutely would if she could. She would move. Small towns weren’t so bad. She could pull a “Sleeping with the Enemy” and get a little house somewhere, an easy job, make pies…

Sonya recovered herself and looked levelly at Nat, “You do know you’re going to have to go back out there, don’t you?”

A flash of desperation passed across Nat’s face before resignation set in. “Yes.” She said, dejectedly. 

“Ok. This really isn’t that bad. I mean, he likes you. There’s a guy outside waiting for you and he likes you, and he’s handsome and smart and you already know you two have amazing crazy sex, so…there are worse circumstances you could find yourself in.”

“Well, when you put it like that I sound like an idiot.” Natalia said, running her hand over her face, trying to get a grip on herself.

“Ok. So we go outside, have some food, have some drinks, everyone stays pleasant, and then we’ll go our separate ways. I’ll make sure of it. We can go and get in some serious retail therapy like we planned. Ok? Everything will be fine.” Here was Sonya’s strength. She knew just what to say to make Nat feel better. 

Nat inhaled a deep breath. “Ok. Ok. I’m going to keep things business like and ignore the little jabs. He’s got to know I want to keep things professional, so help me steer things that way, ok?”

Sonya cocked an eyebrow at her, “You sure you want to keep things professional?”

“Yes.” Nat was forceful on this point. She didn’t do well in relationships. She wasn’t great about handling them. This movie was important to her and she needed Tom to put all his focus into making it great, not chasing after an emotionally immature producer who wanted nothing to do with him. Mostly. 

They returned to the table and Tom stood as they approached, pulling out Natalia’s chair and making sure she was seated comfortably. She ignored how irked she felt about his fussing. Stupid chivalrous son of a bitch. 

Tom seemed to take her brief retreat to the bathroom as a sign that he needed to de-throttle a bit. The rest of the meal passed in an almost pleasant fashion, as Sonya had promised. They discussed the actresses Tom had screen tested with and all agreed that one lady had stood out. Natalia even managed to relax enough to get some food down, although she barely touched the champagne Tom had placed in front of her. Alcohol and Tom, for her, did not mix well, and she was keen not to make another mistake with him. 

“So, what’s the plan for the rest of the afternoon?” Tom asked, throwing his napkin on the table as he finished. The rest of them had already leaned back, in various states of satisfaction, surrendering their plates to the waiter collecting them. 

“Well I’m going to have to get on the phone with Craig, start the ball rolling in negotiations with Alice.” Nat said, referring the the actress they had all agreed upon. 

“Good, good. I can’t wait to start filming. Have you scouted locations yet?” Tom was leaning back in his chair, and apart from the fact that his legs were spread obscenely wide, he was clearly comfortable and curious and finally on a professional page that helped steady Nat’s nerves. 

When the check came there was some arguing over who was going to pay, with Nat insisting on putting it on the company’s card and Tom insisting that’d he’d crashed the lunch and it fell to him to pay. Sonya surprised everyone by swiping the bill just as the waiter stopped by and putting on her own company card. 

“It was our pleasure, Tom, and since we’ve spent most of the meal discussing business you’ll have to find some other time to treat everyone.”

“Deal.” Tom said, throwing his stupid megawatt smile towards Sonya, who blushed in spite of herself. 

Once the bill was settled, they all rose to walk out. Natalia had just begun to taste what freedom from this awkward situation would feel like when Tom took her elbow and called out to the others, “We’re just going to take a moment, I need to speak to Natalia about something. Could you…?” 

Jesse nodded complacently and moved towards the door, while Sonya glanced at Natalia to see her eyes wide and fearful. At a loss, Sonya threw her a sympathetic look and followed Jesse. 

Tom pulled Nat into an alcove in the lobby of the restaurant. “Look, I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel awkward. I really didn’t mean to, and I apologize unreservedly.”

Natalia felt taken aback. “Well, uh…thank you.” Was all she could muster. 

“I know you care about this project a lot. I just want you to know that I do, too. Nothing is going to jeopardize that. But…” he hesitated, his eyes searching her face, which seemed closed off as she avoided eye contact. “What…I mean…I…” words seemed to fail him, and he gripped her by the shoulders, willing her to look at him. Finally, as the silence stretched out, she met his gaze, eyes full of apprehension. 

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” He blurted. 

Color flooded her cheeks. “Tom, that…I am so sorry. I know I’ve been avoiding you and behaving in a generally juvenile fashion, but that night…what happened…” she trailed off as her blush intensified and memories came flooding, unwelcome, into her mind, “…it can’t happen again. I’m sorry. It was a mistake.” Here she met his gaze again and saw, for a split second, how her words had hurt him. “I’m sorry.” She repeated, not knowing what else to say. 

Tom gathered himself, gave a curt nod, and released her. “Well, then, I’m sorry. It was my mistake, too.” His words hung in the air for a moment. Natalia rubbed her arms, fending off a sudden chill. 

“Look, I don’t want there to be awkwardness between us for the rest of the shoot. I can forget anything happened. We can just be…professional. From now on.” He offered. 

Natalia sighed, grateful. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I want. And again, I’m so sorry-”

Here Tom held his hand up. “Stop apologizing. There’s no need.” 

With all apparently said and done between them, they both moved stiffly towards the door. Tom held it open for Nat, who scooted self-consciously through and made a beeline for Sonya, standing at the railing anxiously. 

Everyone issued their goodbyes, and Nat and Sonya had just turned away from the men when Sonya asked, “Ok, how bad was it?”

Nat leveled a look at her. “I’m going to need to melt the plastic on my credit cards.”

Sonya wrapped an arm around her friend, rubbing soothingly, “Roger that.”


End file.
